


A Thousand Paper Wings

by FunkyinFishnet



Category: Emma Approved
Genre: F/M, Hobbies, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5487029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyinFishnet/pseuds/FunkyinFishnet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harriet and Martin are poker, coffee, ukeleles, and pictures. They are a thousand paper cranes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Thousand Paper Wings

 

 

 

When Martin and Harriet left the office, they were carrying two bags full of paper cranes. Harriet couldn’t stop smiling, she’d glance toward Martin or the cranes and then she was smiling even more because she was with Martin and their free hands were clasped together. There was every possible reason to smile, to feel like so many bubbles were floating up inside of her.

 

Martin was smiling too. Harriet had folded him a thousand paper cranes. No one had ever done anything even close to that awesome for him before. She was unreal and she was holding his hand. Her skin was really soft. She’d tasted like latte foam. She’d kissed him back and then when he’d pulled away, to check that it was all okay, she’d kissed him again. Then it had rained cranes.

 

His wish had been amazingly granted.

 

*

 

“What are you going to do with them all?”

 

Martin glanced down at the bag tucked close to his feet. The cranes were all different colors. It still made him smile in giddy disbelief. Harriet had folded every single one herself. She’d given herself papercuts, for him.

 

He felt Harriet’s foot touch his and his smile widened. He thought that Harriet’s did too.

 

“Um...I don’t actually know. There’s a lot of them but I don’t want to lose any, you know?”

 

Harriet pinked, it suited her. Everything suited her, “Your wish already came true, Martin. You don’t have to hold onto them.”

 

“I know. I know, but I want to.”

 

Harriet’s smile curled up sweetly and she nudged her foot against his more purposefully. There was a rustle as Harriet’s leg connected with the bags of cranes stuffed under the table. A waitress brought over their drinks. For a little while, there was only silence except for the clink of spoons in cups and the splash of milk and sugar.

 

It was nice. Martin was here and he wanted to keep all of the cranes she’d made for him. She’d made a lot; it’d taken so many nights to get through them all. She’d meant what she’d said though; it was worth it.

 

“So...a thousand paper cranes,” Harriet mused.

 

“Yeah,” agreed Martin in the same kind of tone, then he blinked and asked, “Wait, you folded them. You didn’t make a wish too?”

 

Harriet shook her head, Martin reached across the table to tangle his free fingers with hers, squeezing her hand. Harriet squeezed back.

 

“You don’t want a wish?” Martin asked, curiously.

 

Harriet’s smile went soft as she thought about when Martin had kissed her, Emma’s excitement at seeing the two of them together, Alex standing behind Emma, looking pleased.

 

“I don’t think I need one.”

 

*

 

They finished their drinks but stayed in the coffee bar, talking. They had a lot to catch up on. Martin talked about the work he’d been doing in New York and how he'd thought about Harriet a lot when he’d wandered along Broadway, looking up at all the bright lights advertizing musicals. He hadn’t seen  _You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown_ among them though, he’d looked a lot. He’d wished that Harriet had been there to look with him.

 

Harriet talked about working for Emma and how great it was to see Emma so happy with Alex. She talked about what she'd been playing on her ukelele recently, how great her music club was going and how she was trying out some  _Charlie Brown_ songs actually. She talked about working with Alex and what a support and encouragement he’d been. Martin nodded; Alex was a really good friend.

 

Martin had a pack of cards in his pocket and showed Harriet how he’d ended up winning so much nacho cheese in a poker tournament. Harriet’s gaze followed his hands and what he was telling her. She asked questions and then he was dealing out a couple of hands and taking her through how a game might start and how outrageously people bluffed and how tense and exciting it got.

 

“I haven’t got any poker chips but-.”

 

“Oh!” Harriet bent down suddenly and then dropped a small armful of paper cranes in front of them both. “This’ll work, right?”

 

Martin laughed, it was an awesome idea. He kissed Harriet’s knuckles because he couldn’t actually think of how to tell her how amazing she was, how beautiful she looked especially right then, all lit up with delighted inspiration. He’d felt that way when he’d first kissed her too, how else could he have expressed what his wish had been?

 

They worked out how much each paper crane would represent and Martin kept his hand of cards open as they began playing and Harriet peered from her hand to his, biting her lip but playing cards and pushing paper cranes across the table. Martin answered her questions and didn’t have to direct her all that much. Harriet laughed when she made mistakes and told Martin that he was really good at bluffing.

 

“You earned the nacho cheese.”

 

“Thanks, I won a lot of beef jerky too so if you want any that’d great actually. It’s a _lot_ of jerky.”

 

That was how they ended heading towards Martin’s apartment, bags of cranes in hand again, where he offered her beef jerky and nacho cheese and he had soda as well if she wanted. Harriet munched on jerky and commented on the pictures hung on his apartment walls. There were some of birds and some that featured shapes and people that Harriet sort of recognized, from video game commercials? The couch was really comfortable and the walls were a nice color too. Harriet liked it. She liked the touch of Martin’s knee against hers, how he glanced at her and she smiled and nodded and he did too and there was that bubbly feeling again. It was Martin.

 

*

 

There hadn’t been many birds to watch in New York so Martin had been making up for it since. He showed Harriet some pictures on his phone and enjoyed the wide-eyed look on her face, the real interest that beamed out.

 

“They’re even more awesome when you actually see them, you know?” he told her.

 

“I...I think I’d like that.”

 

Martin’s smile went all disbelieving and adoring and Harriet dipped her head a little. It all still felt so unreal – the silky ribbon clenched in her fist, Martin’s lips suddenly against hers, both of them then being showered with paper cranes, coffee and card games and her knee against his. But he was here and the way he was looking at her...Harriet hoped she looked like that too; she really wanted him to feel the bubbles that she was feeling.

 

“Really?” Martin asked at last.

 

Harriet nodded her head quickly, “Yeah, I mean, you like bird watching and maybe I will too.”

 

Harriet had learned a lot about new experiences and how exhilarating they could be and Martin loved bird-watching. It made him light up and Harriet really wanted to experience why. She wanted to share that with him, if he wanted. He might not, it was his hobby and she didn’t want to overstep.

 

Martin leaned close suddenly and kissed her, like he hadn’t been able to wait any longer. Harriet’s breath hitched and she could feel Martin’s smile. It was a funny feeling; it made the bubbles fly even higher inside of her. Maybe they weren’t just bubbles though, maybe they were cranes.

 

As the kiss ended, Martin said in a rush, “Will you teach me how to play the ukelele?”

 

Harriet smiled so happily, it felt like her smile was too big for her cheeks “I'd love to.”

 

She really would. Martin was used to working with his hands and he was really smart. Harriet loved sharing her music with people, especially since her music club had been such an amazing experience for her, and she really wanted to share it with Martin. Like he'd been sharing with her.

 

She reached and plucked a crane from a nearby bag.

 

“And look, I’ve spotted my first bird. A crane.”

 

Martin grinned so happily and touched a finger to the crane's paper beak; his other hand returning to holding hers. It was like the cranes had already found themselves another purpose; like a thousand paper wings were beating inside of him.

 

“A crane.”

 

_-the end_


End file.
